


Unlike Any Other

by Lady_Felucia



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), kylux - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Boyfriends, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Cute, Cutesy, Darth Vader - Freeform, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, Evil Space Boyfriends, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluffy Ending, Gay, Gay Male Character, General Hux - Freeform, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Idiots in Love, Implied Relationships, Insecurity, Kissing, Kylo Ren - Freeform, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylux - Freeform, LGBTQ Themes, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Soulmates, Same-Sex Marriage, Short & Sweet, Short Story, Soft Kylux, Soul Bond, Soulmates, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - Freeform, Switching, The First Order, The Force Awakens, True Love, romantic, supreme leader snoke - Freeform, trading places
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2017-10-20
Packaged: 2019-01-20 07:30:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12427887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Felucia/pseuds/Lady_Felucia
Summary: Every day, Lord Kylo Ren and General Armitage Hux have a multitude of things on their plates, in regards to their positions in The First Order.Each believes that the other man has it easier. So, for one day, they decide to approach their jobs as each other. The temporarily named Lord Hux and General Ren end up finding out a lot about each other, and about themselves.





	Unlike Any Other

Hux had never realized before, just how much work went into putting on Kylo's clothes.

Pants, shirt, tunic, undercoat, overcoat, belt, boots, gloves, cape, and of course the helmet. Halfway through dressing he found himself wondering how Kylo managed to move at all under the weight of so many clothes.

This entire thing, of course, had been Hux's own idea. After arguing for what seemed like the hundredth time over who had the harder job in The First Order, Hux suggested that they trade places for a day, to see what life was like in the others' boots.

"If we do this, we do this ALL the way," Hux had told him. "Not just taking over each other's duties, but every aspect of each other. The way we dress, talk, act; even where we stay."

"Ugh," Kylo had said with a sneer. "That means I have to stay in your prissy quarters overnight? The overwhelming clean; how will I sleep?!"

Hux had rolled his eyes at that.  
"That's funny, I don't hear you complaining about being here right now."

They were, of course, in Hux's bed at the time, naked except for the few covers draped over their sweaty bodies.

Kylo had grinned and kissed Hux's chest. "This is different. What we just did was filthy. What we're about to do, even filthier."

"About to do?"

Kylo rolled over on top of him and began kissing him again. 

About half an hour later, they went back to the same subject.

"What about all the Officers? And Snoke? How will they know to treat us as if we were each other?, Kylo asked, stroking Hux's hair.

"I'll send out a memo the day beforehand. Say it's part of a research experiment."

And he had done so; sending out a detailed memo to all of the First Order about the one day switch. People were ordered to refer to Hux as Lord Hux, and to Kylo Ren as General Ren. They had spent hours going over the next day's schedule with each other, and then separated to spend the night at each other's quarters.

While Kylo's rooms had been their usual disaster, his clothes had not been. His robes were made out of the finest, rarest woven threads, and Hux found himself wondering how someone who was as wreckless as Ren could manage not to rip right through the delicate fabric.

The helmet was a scary thing for him. Kylo had shown him the buttons to push to take the thing on and off, but still. 

He took a deep breath, and lifted it gently over his own head, snapping the locks into place.

It was -- clean.

Hux had always suspected that Kylo's helmet would be dirty on the inside, and quite possibly carrying a smell from being in use so constantly, but it wasn't. There was some sort of filtered air setting in here that relayed a burst of cool, fresh air to his nostrils quite frequently. It had a pleasant smell to it, like cinnamon and vanilla. And the eyes--

Hux had thought that it would be difficult to see out of this thing. Not so. The glass in the eyeholes was built out of a specialized material that both magnified and strengthened his vision. He was amazed at how much clearer everything looked, how much brighter.

"Hello," he said to himself, experimentally; and was pleasantly surprised at the way the voice modifier amplified his voice, making it sound much deeper, and stronger.

The last piece of this ensemble, the only thing that made him truly nervous, was the lightsaber.

Kylo had spent some time going over the fundamentals of lightsaber usage with him, but thus far Hux was only comfortable with turning the thing on, and off. 

He carefully unclipped the saber from his belt now, and turned it on. The growling red light shot out immediately, and Hux had to control his nerves to keep from dropping the thing on the ground.

He stood in front of the mirror and looked at himself. 

Kylo was just slightly bigger than him, carrying more weight and more muscles, so the clothes were a tiny bit looser on Hux than he would have liked. Regardless, the belt cinched everything together quite well, and the cape had a voluminous sway to it that covered up any of the ill-fitted garments, making them unnoticeable.

 _Wow_ , he thought to himself, turning this way and that. _This is not a bad look for you, Hux. Not at all._

He turned off the saber and clipped it back on to his belt, then took another deep breathe as he left the quarters.

So began a day in the life as Kylo Ren.

\---

Kylo stepped out of the refresher and took a long look at the uniform hanging quietly in the closet. 

He had already decided that, since his entire head would be exposed, he wasn't going to bother to wear Hux's hat. In all fairness Hux himself never wore it unless he had some fancy occasion to attend, and there was no such thing on his itinery for today. 

So no hat.

After all, this was his big opportunity to showcase the hair he kept hidden beneath the helmet, and he wasn't going to ruin that with a karking hat.

The high-collared shirt and flared breeches felt so smooth and lightweight that Kylo kept looking down at himself, to make sure that he wasn't naked. The coat was of a much heavier material, although still quite a bit more lightweight than Kylo's own robes. He liked how it looked on him; it made him feel regal, in a way.

Kylo had his own DataPad, of course, but his was nowhere near as complicated as Hux's. The General had layer upon layer on contacts, channels, and a confusing separation of officers and other personnel. 

And that was just the people.

There were also multiple pages simply full of live diagnostics of every single piece of machinery, ship, and other consoles that gave off hourly status reports. If something was wrong with one thing or another, a warning would go off, and it would be Hux's (and now, Ren's) job to see that it got fixed.

And his meeting schedule was something else, again.

It seemed as though Hux had a meeting, on every subject imaginable, every few hours, all day. Kylo was lucky in that Hux had pre-prepared the speeches he needed to give, and the topics of conversation.

Still, though, despite the fearless persona he cast around the base, Kylo was not much one for public speaking. And when he did have to speak, he could do it from behind the cover of the helmet and the voice modulator.

Having to use his own voice, and to know that everyone was going to be seeing and hearing _him_ , was unsettling.

Still, he was determined to go through with this.

So he gave himself one final look-over in the mirror, running his hands through the wavy hair before stepping outside Hux's quarters and heading to his office.

\---

"General, uh, pardon, Lord Hux, here is your list of orders today."

"Orders?"

"Yes, uh, my Lord. Executions. The prisoners in cell blocks 42A-F are due for execution today."

Hux knew this had been coming, but it was still disheartening to hear it said out-loud. He took the list from the Lieutenant and scanned it. 

It was long. 

Much longer than expected.

"I'll go and prepare the prisoners for your arrival, my Lord," the officer said before strolling away. Amazingly, he was whistling, as if the two were about to embark on a fun journey rather than a horrifying death-spree.

But then again, that probably WAS how Kylo approached this part of his job.

Hux drew the lightsaber out, and experimentally moved the blade back and forth through the air.

It was easy enough to wield through nothing -- but what was it going to be like, with an actual flesh and blood creature?

He took a deep breath and set off towards the prisoner control rooms, to find out.

Hux was shocked, at how easy it was to sound menacing from behind the helmet. The clothes, the lightsaber--it all gave him a feeling of power.

It was scarily intoxicating.

It was very revealing to him, to see just how much effort Kylo put into this aspect of his job. He had always assumed that he had had a secondary party read him a list of current executions, and then he simply performed them.

Not so.

Kylo had a data pad, true, but he rarely used it. He preferred the old-fashioned method of writing nearly everything down on paper.

Written in Kylo's own (horribly sloppy) handwriting were a plethora of details and thoughts on each person facing the death-sword. The crime they had committed, observations on whether said criminals had shown remorse for their crimes, whether or not he felt that the person deserved to suffer before death, on and on and on.

Hux read through the paragraph(s) written on each person, trying to get a sense of who he was about to face.

At the very bottom of the list was something that made Hux both smile, and feel a slight chill inside. Written in a much neater hand, and punctuated with a crudely drawn smiling face, was "Remember: What Would Vader Do?"

The guards had each individual lined up before him. Hux would read a list of their crimes to them, and ask if they had any final words. Most didn't. Some simply cried. Hux steeled his heart and began.

He went down the line and killed one person after another, methodically, marveling at how easily the saber went through human flesh. This was worlds different than using a blaster. With a saber, everything was so _real_ , so personal. You could _feel_ the bodies convulse around the spear of fiery light, you could see the exact moment when someone's life-force left them completely.

Indeed, this was intoxicating.

Almost too soon, the executions ended, and maintenance began to drag the bodies away to the incinerator. Hux had a momentary regret, feeling the adrenaline that had built up slowly leave his body.

He also realized that, embarrassingly, he had an erection.

_Is this something that happens to Kylo, too?_

It took him a while to realize that one of the stormtroopers was timidly trying to get his attention. Without turning around, he said,

"Yes, trooper?"

"My Lord, your presence is requested by Supreme Leader Snoke."

"For?"

"He always requests for the Lord to report to him after every execution, Sir."

Hux nodded and clipped the saber back into his belt. The mention of Snoke had made his pantal-region excitement die quickly, so he turned around and made his way to his boss.

\---

The way everybody was staring at him was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Despite the memo that Hux had sent out, it was apparent, reading the thoughts of those he encountered, that they had thought he'd somehow still be donning the helmet.

Seeing his face was a shock to many, and not a very concealed one, at that. Heads had turned, jaws had dropped. One of the maintenance troopers carrying a case full of tools watched him go by, and ran themselves face-first into a steel bearing wall.

By the time he reached Hux's office, he felt more than a little self-conscious. He sat at the desk and prepared himself for the first meeting of the day, when a light knock came on his door.

"Come in," he called.

In walked an extremely attractive woman, young and blonde, and with a big smile on her face.

"General Ren?", she asked in a sultry voice.

"Yes?"

"Good morning, I'm Cecelia. I'm personal secretary and assistant to the General, which, I gather, is YOU today."

Kylo gave her another full, careful look, and frowned. When Hux had described his assistant to him, Kylo had been picturing somebody much older. Certainly not this voluptuous creature standing before him.

Was this something he needed to be concerned about?

"Hello," he said slowly, standing to shake her hand. Getting close to her, he couldn't help but notice how nice she smelled, like a field of flowers.

He tried to push his growing unease out of his mind.

"I have your key notes prepared for your meeting coming up. Also I've filed the two documents in the upcoming A-wing renovation, and have your requisition forms for the --"

She spoke on and on, and Kylo couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed. He found himself absurdly thankful that this charade of being Hux was only lasting for one single day.

When she finished, she touched his hand and said, with one of those disarming smiles, "Good luck. If there's anything else you need, my office is right outside the door."

"Actually, yes. This meeting, it's in conference room--?"

"22-G."

"Okay. Thank you."

She sashayed out of the room, and Kylo let out a breath. He would have to wait until later to ask Hux about Cecelia. Right now, he needed to focus on the first (of many) meetings.

Surprisingly, it didn't go as badly as he'd feared.

There was something about knowing that everybody was listening to him, to _him_ , and responding to him as a person they could see and interact with, that was lovely.

While initially uncomfortable with speaking, he found that the longer he talked, the more comfortable he felt in doing so. By the third meeting of he day he had gained a useful (if temporary) confidence, that made the nervous butterflies in his stomach disappear altogether.

Hux's officers were very kind towards the 'new' General, waiting patiently as he fell into his rhythm, praising the things he said, commending his ideas.

That was something else very new to him: having his opinion asked for. When he walked around as himself, everybody simply complied with whatever he demanded of them, no matter how ludicrous. But as Hux, those around him asked what he thought about certain things, and weren't afraid to argue with him, like they would be if he were just Ren.

It was refreshing, to hold real conversations that weren't steeped solely in fear.

Of course, there was a slight downside to this.

He hadn't known before just how much Hux's subordinates depended on him, on almost everything, from advice giving to dispute resolution. Nobody would have dared come to Kylo with their personal problems, but with Hux, he had fostered an environment where individuals felt comfortable coming to him about ANYTHING.

In between meetings, Kylo had a slew of individuals come into his office to seek his guidance or ask him to resolve a dispute. One Captain wanted new living quarters to be farther away from a fellow Captain that she had ended a relationship with. Several cadets came in a small group, giving an argument as to why they felt longer meal times would be beneficial to troop morale.

Two Lieutenants came in, heatedly fighting with one another, each trying to undercut the other as they asked Kylo to resolve the dispute between them, which was over something as arbitrary as mission detail.

This was the first time he had ever had to truly listen, and resolve a dispute in a calm, rational manner. 

He was a bit amazed, at how immature the two before him sounded.

_Do **I** sound this childish when I talk to Hux? Maker, I hope not._

Finally, towards the middle of the day, he got a reprieve from everything as Cecelia informed him that this was when Hux took his midday meal.

"I'm starving, Cecilia. What's for lunch?"

She set a tray down on his desk and lifted the lid. He was beyond disappointed to find a single piece of dry toast, a small bowl of cut-up fruit, and, of course, the always-present tea.

"Is this really all he eats for lunch?", he asked, eyeing the tray with disdain.

Cecelia smiled and timidly patted his shoulder. "I'm afraid so. But, there IS a chance that I MAY have an extra piece of cake on my desk."

Kylo smiled and shook his head. "Thank you, but no. I'm going to stick this out. I appreciate your thinking of me."

She smiled back and nodded. "Very well, 'General'. I'll be in my office; let me know when you're finished so I can prep you for the next half of your day."

She turned to go, then abruptly faced him again.

"May I say something else?"

"Yes?"

Looking down nervously, she said, "I've been serving General Hux for nearly five years, now. And in all that time, it was very rare that I've seen him happy. He's happy now. All the time. I don't presume to inquire as to the personal affairs of him, or you, but I'm not exactly a fool. I have my theories as to WHY he's so happy. If I may speak on a very, _very_ personal note: you're a very nice man, and I'm happy. For both of you."

Kylo looked at her. He knew that reaching out with the Force to read her mind would be cheating; but he couldn't help it. He had to know if she was being sincere.

She was.

"Thank you, Cecelia," he said after a few moments. He offered her a real smile, then said, as a joke,

"Of course, his depressing eating habits probably greatly contributed to his 'unhappiness'."

\---

"What IS all this?"

"Standard lunch for your Lordship, sir."

Before him lay an assortment of meats, cheeses, potatoes, and other dishes, piled high on top of the tray. The tray was, in fact, slightly bowed under the weight of all it carried.

Hux carefully removed his helmet, noticing how vulnerable he felt in doing so.

"Does he really eat all this, for a single meal?"

The man smiled and nodded. As he walked away, he said,

"If you think this is bad, wait until you see dessert."

Hux sat at the table and endeavored to eat all that Ren would normally eat. It was hard; he didn't know how Ren could possibly put away this much food and not burst.

Sitting alone at the table was a new, somewhat surreal experience for Hux. He didn't normally eat in the mess to begin with, but when he DID, he was always at a full table surrounded by his officers. Talking, laughing, exchanging bits of news and gossip--

But apparently, the situation was not the same for Ren. The intimidation that he cast set him (and today, Hux) apart from everybody else. Hux noticed how reluctant others were to make eye contact with him, and when they did, most people would just stutter out a timid "Good day, my Lord" and hurry past him.

He hadn't quite realized, before, how lonely that could be.

He had asked Kylo, before, why he never joined him and the other Officers, on the few occasions they had lunch at the same time. All Kylo had replied at the time was "I'm not allowed," and would elaborate no further.

After having talked to Snoke earlier, though, he understood that statement more.

When he had gone to tell Snoke about the executions, Snoke had spoken to him exactly he way he would have to Kylo Ren, filling his head with compliments and praise. Yet at the same time, he fiercely invaded Hux's thoughts.

The mind-peeling was highly unsettling, and just teetering on the edge of painful. Snoke pulled every single angle, perspective and thought from his head regarding each and every death he had administered, criticizing Hux on thoughts he hadn't even been aware of having, at the time.

"You were experiencing too many sympathetic thoughts in regards to your prisoners, Lord Hux. You must remember that these people, ALL people, are beneath you."

It went on like that for nearly an hour, Snoke filling up Hux's mind with that confusing duality of praise, and criticism. Hux understood, a bit, the extremely high expectations that Snoke had for Kylo Ren, and how hard he had worked, to separate him from everybody else in The First Order. 

Snoke was not encouraging of Kylo forming friendships, and was unsympathetic to anything he considered a weakness in thought or personality.

"You must remember, Lord Hux," Snoke said, in the same manner he would have spoken to Kylo, "You are the grandson of Darth Vader. You are a Skywalker. No family in this universe has control of the Force like you have. Respect it, embody it. It is your only friend."

Hux had left that meeting feeling a strange mix of doubt, fear, anger, and a nagging feeling that, somehow, he had failed both Snoke's and his own expectations.

_If Snoke makes him feel like that all the time, it's really no wonder why he feels the need to destroy things so often. I feel like smashing a few consoles myself._

After lunch, feeling thoroughly stuffed and hardly able to move, Hux saw with dismay that Kylo had 'Work Out' next in his schedule.

Kylo's personal gym was located on the lower floor of the base, just beyond the maintenance control room.

Secluded, private, and BIG.

The gym was split into half, one hand being standard workout equipment, the other a bare-earthed tiny field with rocks, pillars, and a small pond. That part of the gym he used for Force-training, but since Hux couldn't use the Force, he was only tasked with the physical part of the workout.

This was another place where Kylo's penchant for writing things down came into play. 

Written on the bar of the weights, so that Hux saw it every time he pumped it up and down, were the words "Vader Would Do Better". On the pull-up bar, "Weakness Can't Be Tolerated". On the treadmill, above the button settings: "You Can't Run From What's Inside".

The punching bag was the only item that didn't have a set of words in it, but in a way, it was the worst thing of all. Instead of words, the bag was covered in dark red hand and fist prints, leaving Hux to deduce that Kylo would punch this thing until his hands had literally been bloodied.

He was all to glad to get out of there, and move on to the next part of Kylo's day: meditation and communion in Kylo's quarters.

With-- _it_.  
The helmet.

Meditation was something that Hux had always had difficulty with. He found it nearly impossible to sit still, and to clear his mind from everything that constantly ran rampant within it.

It was odd, sitting in a near-dark room and talking to an inanimate object. He had asked Kylo beforehand whether he was supposed to say anything in specific, but had been met with a vigorous shake of the head.

"Say whatever you want. Trust me; you'll be surprised at what comes out if you keep yourself talking long enough."

So Hux took a deep breath and sat cross-legged on a cushion in front of the helmet.

"Hello," he began, immediately feeling ridiculous. "I'm General Armitage Hux, Hux for short. I know you've seen me a few times, now, but I think this is the first time we've ever spoken directly."

No answer.

"I guess you've deduced by now that I'm, uh, your grandson's lover. Well, no, I really don't like saying that. But we're more than friends, obviously. Some people use the word 'boyfriend', but that's always sounded so childish to me. We're two grown men, for Maker's sake."

No answer.

"I'd actually like to call him my husband, someday, but I don't know. I'm not sure if he would WANT that."

Was it his imagination, or did the helmet suddenly have a glow to it? A kind of soft, listening warmth? 

"I love him. As ridiculous as it sounds, I don't think I knew what love even WAS before him."

Still listening.

"Marriage isn't something that the First Order makes easy, though. I've had countless friends take their vows, only to be divorced a year later. It--it takes its toll. The constant work. The duties. The distractions. The traveling."

Still listening.

"Not that I don't want to give it a try, regardless. It's just, I don't know, it scares me. What if he decides, somewhere down the line, he doesn't want me anymore? I don't think I could live, if that was the case."

_That's ridiculous._

Hux was so startled that he nearly fell over backwards. He stared, hard, at the helmet. That voice--was it in his own head? His imagination? Or was it --

_He needs you just as badly as you need him. He'd never admit that; Skywalker's are stubborn. But it's true._

Kylo had projected into Hux's mind once or twice before. It had been a very unsettling experience, like hearing two voices speak at once.

But this was nothing like that.

The voice speaking into his head was very deep, and calm. Hearing it was like hearing the voice of an ancient being in a fairy tale.

"My God, have I gone crazy?", Hux asked himself out-loud.

No answer.

Hux got up quickly and left the room, feeling he had had more than enough of this. Halfway out the door he hastily came back in again, and bowed his head before the helmet.

 _Thank you for your council, Lord Vader_ , he thought, before leaving quickly once more.

\---

Strategizing attacks had always been something Kylo had wanted to do, but Snoke never wanted him  
to participate in before.

Now, he found himself glad for that edict.

This was nothing like Hux's normal meetings, where everybody more or less got a fair chance at being a contributor. This, was cut-throat. Hux's officers were almost frothing at the mouth, trying to get themselves and their ideas heard.

He was used to the presence of multiple voices in his mind; but hearing this slew of them out-loud was a new and rather unpleasant experience for him. Everybody was speaking at once, trying to loudly laud their version of what would be the best possible mode of attack.

And he couldn't use the Force to scare them into silence, because that would be cheating.

He had to just sit there and _listen_ to everybody speak, and _calmly_ mediate the conversations.

At the end of everything, they were no further ahead in their plan than they had been at the beginning of the session. 

When everybody left, Kylo found himself with a massive headache. He went to his office and dug around in Hux's desk drawers, looking for the pain medication he knew Hux kept hidden away. 

He found the bottle, an extremely large, economy-size bottle, and eagerly opened it. But instead of pills, the thing was full to the brim with scraps of paper, some big, some small, each folded over countless times until they were small enough to fit into the container.

He picked out one of the thicker-folded ones and opened it.

His breath caught in his throat.

On the scrap was a note that he, Kylo, had written to him, way back when they had first started seeing each other.

//Hux,

I'm writing this as you're sleeping next to me. We just made love for he first time, and it was everything I thought it would be. But now I'm scared; no, terrified, because I finally realize my feelings for you run deeper than I ever expected them to. I want to wake you up and ask you if you feel the same, but, Maker, you look so peaceful, so absolutely beautiful, resting beside me.

Maybe I'll give you this in the morning, maybe not. Just know that, for now, for ALWAYS, I love you, I adore you, and I can't wait to wake up next to you tomorrow morning.

Love, Kylo //

 

When he had given that note to Hux that following morning, Hux had hugged him, but hadn't said anything. After that, regularly, Kylo would write notes to Hux and leave them hidden along his quarters. But after that first hug, Hux had never acknowledged these notes.

To see now, that he had kept them all--and that, apparently, he considered them an adequate cure for pain--

He folded it back up carefully and stuck in back in the bottle, before replacing it where he had found it in Hux's drawer.

Suddenly, his own headache felt worlds better.

\---

Finally, the end of the day came, and each man could go back to being himself again. 

Kylo brought back Hux's uniform  
to him, and hung it neatly in his closet. Hux did the same with Kylo's robes, and then they both met in Hux's quarters, to talk about their days.

"You know, I've got to say, Hux, I don't know how you manage to do all that you do, and still keep your head from spinning off. I'm impressed."

Hux blushed, sitting down with a stack of papers. "I'd have to say the same about you, darling. Mentally, I don't think I could withstand all the pressure you face. I have so many people to help me with all I do, but you have no one. I'm beyond impressed, my dear."

Now it was Kylo's turn to blush. He went into the kitchen for a glass of water. When he came back, he said,

"You mean people to help you, like that assistant of yours?"

"Who? Oh, you mean Ce-Ce?"

Kylo grimaced at that. He hadn't known, and Cecelia never mentioned, that Hux called her by a nickname. It was very -- endearing. And worrisome.

"Yes, 'Ce-Ce'. I have to say, she's awfully young. And pretty."

Hux shrugged and kept reading over his data pad. "Honestly, I never noticed. She's an excellent typist, very organized, and has a mind for detail, which is why I have her around."

"You mean you've never noticed how other people turn their heads and look at her?"

Now Hux looked up at Kylo with a frown. "That's not really the sort of thing that concerns me, Kylo. As I said, she successfully does the job I employ her to do. That's all I care about."

Kylo nodded and looked away.

Hux watched him a moment longer, and something occurred to him. Throughout the day, he had come across multiple signs that Kylo felt he just wasn't "good" enough, in a lot of ways. Hux understood now, why he kept his feelings of inadequacy to himself, but still. 

Hux needed to let him know that, in HIS eyes, he was much, much more than "good enough". That the likes of Cecelia, or anybody else, didn't begin to compare to him.

So he did something completely unlike himself.

He put down his papers, stood up, and went to Kylo. He wrapped his arms around him in a very tight hug, pinning his arms down at his side, and making it difficult for him to breathe.

"What are you doing?" Kylo asked, confused.

"I love you, Kylo Ren. Armitage Hux is in love with Kylo Ren. Armitage Hux will ALWAYS be in love with Kylo Ren. You're the only one that MATTERS in my galaxy. YOU."

Kylo cleared his throat, trying desperately to stop the tears he could feel sliding from his eyes. Without letting go of him, Hux leaned up and kissed his face all over, slowly, sweetly.

Then he let go and walked back to his papers.

"Do you feel better now?"

Kylo nodded with a smile.

"Good. I was afraid I'd have to ask Vader what to do, to cheer you up. You know, while it's not as odd as I thought it'd be, it was still quite unsettling to --"

"Wait," Kylo interrupted him, excitement coloring his tone. "You mean--he SPOKE to you?!"

Hux nodded. "He did. He didn't say much, but--"

Kylo sat down, his head reeling.

Vader's helmet had been in his uncle Luke's possession, before Kylo had stolen it when he left. His uncle Luke used to sit and commune with it quite regularly, the same way Kylo did now (although for different purposes).

As a test, Luke had had all of his students try and get a response from the helmet, but nothing ever happened.

Leia, on the sole occasion she could be persuaded to do so, sat in the temple and was able to have an hour-long conversation with her father.

Years later, after Kylo had come to the First Order, Snoke had tried, as well; but Vader had never spoken to _him_.

This had led Kylo to deduce that Vader would only speak to family.

And if it had spoken to Hux--

"He's meant to be a part of my family.", Kylo said out-loud, quietly, to himself.

Hux looked up. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Kylo said quickly, with a smile.

He thought about the ring he had bought, ages ago, sitting hidden on a shelf in his closet. He thought about all the different ideas he had had, since he bought it, on how to propose.

He thought about a wedding, and how much time and effort went into planning one.

As he sat beside Hux, he asked, casually,

"So, Ce-Ce; do you think she'd be good at planning a large event? A celebration, of sorts?"

"I'm sure she would be." Now he looked at Kylo curiously. "Why? Do we have something coming up that requires a celebration?"

"You never know, Hux," Kylo said. "I'm going to go back to my quarters and get dressed. I'm going to take you out to dinner. Be ready in an hour?"

Hux nodded, and Kylo leaned over and kissed his cheek again, before leaving for his own place. 

The thought of what he planned to do tonight was sending shivers down his spine, his pulse racing, his heartbeat frantic--

\--but he also couldn't stop smiling.


End file.
